Track Places Eighth at Big 12s

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team scored 33 of their 40 points on the final day of competition to take eighth at the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Waco, Texas.

No. 2 Kansas won the meet with 158 points and swept both the indoor and outdoor titles this season. No. 10 Texas placed second with 145 points, No. 21 Baylor finished third and No. 16 Iowa State and No. 23 Oklahoma rounded out the top five with 89 and 78.50 points, respectively.

“We had some many great performances over the course of the weekend,” coach Sean Cleary says. “Today was so crucial for the future of this program.”

The Mountaineers started off the third day with eight points after a second-place finish by Stormy Nesbit in the triple jump. Nesbit recorded a mark of 12.51 meters and scored for the second time in the meet and finished the year with three All-Big 12 honors.

“Stormy was clutch earlier today in the triple jump,” Cleary says. “Her runner-up performance was a direct result of her finally being healthy. We believe this is just the beginning of her season.”

WVU continued its success into the 3,000-meter steeplechase, where the team placed all four runners in the top eight to score 15 points. Jordan Hamric broke her own school record and finished second overall with a time of 10:11.06. Sarah Martinelli was the next runner across the finish line in fifth place with a personal-best time of 10:34.28. Sarah McCauley and Aubrey Moskal rounded out the scoring runners by finishing in seventh (10:41.75) and eighth (10:42.08), respectively.

“Our steeplechase group simply got it done,” Cleary says. “That group has concentrated on this day for six months. I am so proud of that group. Jordan Hamric ran the race of her life and we will take this performance and build upon it.”

Sydney Cummings and Hannah Stone also scored for WVU today by placing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the high jump. Cummings cleared 1.75 meters, while Stone matched her personal-best of 1.67 meters.

“Our high jumpers put themselves in a good position to both hit the podium,” Cleary says. “Sydney was a touch off but still found a way to contribute in a big way.”

Chene Townsend returned to the track to run in the 100-meter hurdle finals where she placed seventh with a season-best time of 13.65. All-American Sarah-Anne Brault competed in the 5,000-meter run for the first time this season and came in eighth place with a time of 16:38.42.

“Chene has also been struggling and to go out and make this final and run a season-best time tells me that she can continue her season at a much higher level,” Cleary says.

The Mountaineers will next see action at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Va., on May 11.